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Monday, June 12, 2017

Admiral Makarov to Enter Service in November

Russian frigate Admiral Makarov will be delivered to the Navy in November, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Tass News Agency reported on June 10, 2017 that the Defense Ministry announced the planned delivery of the Project 11356 frigate. The frigate, once all testing has been completed, will enter service with the Black Sea Fleet.

Yantar shipyard laid down Admiral Makarov -- the third Project 11356 frigate -- in February 2012. It was launched over three years later, in September 2015. The vessel was initially slated to be delivered late last year, but its entrance into service has been delayed.

Prior to the Defense Ministry announcement, it had been expected that the new commission date would be in the first half of 2016.

The cause for the delays are assumed to be related to unspecified issues with its Shtil-1 air-defense system. These issues seem to have been resolved earlier in 2017, allowing for the frigate to move forward with its testing.

The Black Sea Fleet operates two other frigates of the same class, Admiral Grigorovich and Admiral Essen. Initial Russian plans to field six frigates of the class were amended amid a deterioration in military cooperation with Ukraine, which left the planned latter three frigates of the class, two of which had already been laid down, without engines.

While Russia has worked on its own locally-made gas turbine engines, the country opted to export the remaining vessels in the class to India.